# Did Pelosi just un-invite Trump from the State of the Union? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 16, 2019, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898 "2019-01-16T22:02:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/1 "2019-01-16T22:02:06Z")
The U.S. Constitution says that the president shall from time to time report to Congress on the State of the Union. It doesn’t say that the president has to give a speech. It doesn’t say a State of the Union speech has to be in the House of Representatives. The modern ritual of an annual State of the Union address in the well of the House of Representatives dates back only to Woodrow Wilson. For this to happen, the House has to invite the president to come and speak. Without such an invitation, the president may not set foot in the House. Usually this invitation happens a few days before the scheduled address. Nancy Pelosi just sent a letter to Trump saying they need to talk about rescheduling this event while the government is shut down. Or maybe, he can just submit a report in writing (which Thomas Jefferson and many other pre-20th century presidents did). [https://www.speaker.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Letter-to-President-Trump-SOTU.pdf](https://www.speaker.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Letter-to-President-Trump-SOTU.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Dacien](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dacien/32/5663_2.png) [@Dacien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dacien)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/2 "2019-01-16T22:06:07Z")
It really is just an opportunity to get your message out, talk about the things you want to talk about. A great number of the conservative punditry approve of doing away with the tradition. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/3 "2019-01-16T22:06:43Z")
I suspect this really burns Trump. Maybe it would even motivate him to end the shutdown, just so he could get his pomp-and-ceremony in. Rep. Steve Scalise (Louisiana) says Trump could give his address somewhere else – [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-16/pelosi-suggests-trump-delay-state-of-union-shutdown-update](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-16/pelosi-suggests-trump-delay-state-of-union-shutdown-update) The _National Review_ prints a rare statement that I agree with 100 percent. The president is not a king and he’s not the embodiment of the nation – [Nancy Pelosi Should Cancel the State of the Union | National Review](https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/nancy-pelosi-should-cancel-the-state-of-the-union-pageant/) > [@](#): > > The hideous State of the Union pageant would not be much missed, and the American people would be reminded in a dramatic fashion that the president is the chief administrator of the federal bureaucracy, not a ruler, not an ersatz king, and not the personification of the nation. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/4 "2019-01-16T22:07:16Z")
I like the hardball. Can you imagine the nonsense, shitty grammar, and random ALL CAPS we’d get if he has to write it out? Of course, in that case the speech would be ghostwritten like Trump’s book was. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/5 "2019-01-16T22:12:54Z")
If there’s one thing that we’ve learned from the McConnell/Trump era, it’s that “unwritten rules” aren’t really rules at all. I’m glad to see that the Democrats have learned this lesson and are willing to weaponize it against the Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/6 "2019-01-16T22:16:04Z")
OK, this, right here, is how you do it: Perfectly reasoned and polite, with full decorum, and yet leaving scorch marks where Trump’s balls used to be. And to think that people wonder why we keep Pelosi as Speaker. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/7 "2019-01-16T22:19:42Z")
Speaker Pelosi hasn’t actually canceled the State of the Union; she just won’t invite President Trump to give it in person before Congress. He can still send a written address which will be read out by a clerk like every President between John Adams and Woodrow Wilson did. IIRC the last President to submit a written address was Jimmy Carter. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/8 "2019-01-16T22:24:13Z")
Wonder if Trump would try to tweet the SOTU? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/9 "2019-01-16T22:26:34Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I like the hardball. Can you imagine the nonsense, shitty grammar, and random ALL CAPS we’d get if he has to write it out? Of course, in that case the speech would be ghostwritten like Trump’s book was. I know! The image of Trump having to do homework cracks me up–sitting with a giant Sharpie and canary yellow notepad, sticking his tongue out of the side of his mouth as he tries to write a book report. > [@alphaboi867](#): > > Speaker Pelosi hasn’t actually canceled the State of the Union; she just won’t invite President Trump to give it in person before Congress. He can still send a written address which will be read out by a clerk like every President between John Adams and Woodrow Wilson did. IIRC the last President to submit a written address was Jimmy Carter. > > Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Hey, alphaboi, did you actually read the OP on your SM-G65U using Tapatalk before you posted? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/10 "2019-01-16T22:28:57Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Wonder if Trump would try to tweet the SOTU? That occurred to me too! ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/11 "2019-01-16T22:58:47Z")
While tweeting it would be hilarious, he’ll probably just choose some other venue for the speech. The real question is whether the new site will be chosen to maximize insult to the Dems or maximize rallying cry to his base. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/12 "2019-01-16T23:03:51Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Speaker Pelosi hasn’t actually canceled the State of the Union; she just won’t invite President Trump to give it in person before Congress. He can still send a written address which will be read out by a clerk like every President between John Adams and Woodrow Wilson did. IIRC the last President to submit a written address was Jimmy Carter. > > Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Since Speaker of the House is trying to re-schedule the State of the Union address, it’s safe to assume that the invitation has already been sent, and accepted. Pelosi is trying to claim it’s now a security issue, but the Secret Service says they weren’t even questioned about the SotU security. It sounds as if Pelosi is more concerned about her own personal security than providing border security for voters in the U.S… Pelosi is in a position to withdraw the House’s invitation. Of course, that would make Pelosi even more petty than she is, but that’s her choice. The President is not required to use the floor of the House to present a SotU address. Pelosi’s gambit will guarantee even more public interest for this SotU address if only to discover what Pelosi is so afraid of hearing. Sent from my Apple IIe using Fingerpokin ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/13 "2019-01-16T23:04:54Z")
There seems to be some confusion. One of Pelosi’s spokespersons said today it wasn’t a formal rescinding of he invitation, just a proposal. Then House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on CNN that the “SOTU is off.” Who knows. Assuming the invite really is rescinded, I predict Trump will quickly organize a campaign rally-type event in some border town in Texas and deliver his speech there, where he can get all the applause he craves and no visuals of Democratic reps standing stoically. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/14 "2019-01-16T23:08:58Z")
It would be awesome if Trump ends up giving a speech from the Oval office. Because Pelosi has said “He can do it from the Oval office.” See, she told him to. I hope he does. That’s gonna fuck with him! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/15 "2019-01-16T23:09:59Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Since Speaker of the House is trying to re-schedule the State of the Union address, it’s safe to assume that the invitation has already been sent, and accepted. Uh, no. It’s not safe to assume. The sending of an invitation requires official action by both the Senate and the House. No such action as been taken, so there has been no invitation. The speaker and the president’s staff usually informally prepare for the invitation to be sent well in advance, and that’s all that has happened. They had agreed informally on a particular date, as has been done in the past. Her letter asks him to reconsider that date. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/16 "2019-01-16T23:15:47Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Uh, no. It’s not safe to assume. The sending of an invitation requires official action by both the Senate and the House. No such action as been taken, so there has been no invitation. > > The speaker and the president’s staff usually informally prepare for the invitation to be sent well in advance, and that’s all that has happened. They had agreed informally on a particular date, as has been done in the past. Her letter asks him to reconsider that date. On January 3, [Pelosi sent him a letter](https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/03/politics/nancy-pelosi-donald-trump-state-of-the-union/index.html) formally inviting him to give the SOTU on the 29th. That’s as official as it gets. I don’t believe the Senate has to take any action. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/17 "2019-01-16T23:21:41Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Uh, no. It’s not safe to assume. The sending of an invitation requires official action by both the Senate and the House. No such action as been taken, so there has been no invitation. > > The speaker and the president’s staff usually informally prepare for the invitation to be sent well in advance, and that’s all that has happened. They had agreed informally on a particular date, as has been done in the past. Her letter asks him to reconsider that date. What action is required by the Senate when the House issues an invitation to the President? Is Pelosi asking the President to reschedule, or reconsider, the date? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/18 "2019-01-16T23:22:04Z")
This would be the first time the President has been the Designated Survivor. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/19 "2019-01-16T23:31:18Z")
Pelosi sent him an invitation, but it doesn’t mean much. In order for the President to give the SOTU, both the House and the Senate pass a resolution authorizing a joint session of Congress. Neither chamber has done that, so there will be no joint session, so there will be no address. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898/20 "2019-01-16T23:31:53Z")
It’s partially my fault because I did use the term “un-invite” myself. But there are two levels of invitation that have to happen. And the official-official one hasn’t happened. > **[State of the Union: Can Nancy Pelosi rescind Donald Trump’s invitation](https://www.ajc.com/news/national/state-the-union-address-can-nancy-pelosi-rescind-donald-trump-invitation/t0TQQVPpCmVTpd9PDsiO7H/)** > > State of the Union address: Can Nancy Pelosi rescind Donald Trump’s invitation? > [@](#): > > Because the speech involves a joint session, both the House and the Senate must pass resolutions to OK the joint session. > > The passing of the resolutions, in essence, constitutes an invitation from both the speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader for the president to appear before both chambers of Congress. > > So far, neither the House nor the Senate has passed such a resolution that invites the president to give the State of the Union address on Jan. 29. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-pelosi-just-un-invite-trump-from-the-state-of-the-union/827898.md?page=2)